Ayurveda for headaches and migraines in San Ramon

A tight band across the forehead by evening, a pounding one-sided headache that sends you to a dark room, or headaches that arrive with a missed meal or a poor night: headaches have many patterns. Preeti Gupta at Minute Wonder Ayurveda in San Ramon looks for yours, alongside a physician's diagnosis.

Preeti does not diagnose pathological conditions from a Western perspective, so her work sits alongside the care of your physician and never replaces it.

What Ayurveda looks at

Ayurveda often reads heat and intensity as pitta, throbbing and sensitivity to noise as vata, and heaviness with congestion as kapha. Preeti looks at:

• Timing and triggers: skipped meals, bright light, hormonal cycles, weather, screens.

• Digestion and bowels, since Ayurveda links many head complaints to the gut.

• Sleep, hydration and the stress load of the week before an attack.

What a First Visit covers

A First Visit is 90 minutes ($250). Preeti reviews your daily routine, diet, digestion, exercise and sleep, using a health history, pulse analysis and tongue diagnosis. For headaches and migraines, expect time on:

• A headache diary: when, how long, where, and what came before it.

• Your physician's findings, what you take for the pain, and how often.

• Whether Shirodhara would fit; her page says it may suit people with chronic headaches, stress or insomnia.

You leave with a written diet, herbal and lifestyle plan. Follow-ups are $125 for 60 minutes. See pricing.

What you can start this week

Two ideas from her recipe pages while you keep a diary:

• Barley drink (jau ke sattu). Her page calls barley water cooling and hydrating, a simple way to drink more. Avoid barley with gluten sensitivity.

• Bottle gourd (gheeya). A light, hydrating vegetable dish. Her page describes bottle gourd as cooling, with a lot of hydration.

See your physician first if

• A sudden, severe headache unlike any before, or the worst of your life. Call 911.

• Headache with fever and a stiff neck, confusion, weakness, vision loss or trouble speaking.

• Headaches that are new after 50, follow a head injury, or are steadily getting worse.

Common questions about headaches and migraines

Can Ayurveda help with migraines?

Preeti looks at triggers, digestion, sleep and stress and builds a routine around them. It sits alongside your physician's plan and any migraine medicine, and does not replace it.

Is Shirodhara safe during a migraine?

Shirodhara is a calming therapy booked in advance, not something for the middle of an attack. Her page lists who should avoid it, including people with a cold, flu or fever, and asks you to tell Preeti your health history first.

What should I bring to my First Visit?

Your headache diary, your medicine list, and the routine and food diary Preeti asks every new client to prepare: wake-up time, meals, exercise, work and sleep, including naps.

Ayurveda is a traditional system of wellness and is not a substitute for medical care. Content here is educational. Please consult your physician about any medical condition. Preeti Gupta is not licensed by the State of California as a healing arts practitioner; Ayurvedic services are complementary to the care of licensed providers.